SFCG’s Youth Facilitates Youth Forum in Timor-Leste
First Annual Youth Forum 2010
This week, SFCG’s Youth Radio for Peacebuilding Project will facilitate the Second Annual National Youth Forum in Dili, Timor-Leste. The forum is organized in conjunction with International Youth Day , in cooperation with the Secretary of State for Youth and Sport. It will bring together fifty youth leaders (between the ages of 17 and 29) from the country’s 13 districts. The forum will provide a platform for youth to elaborate, discuss, and develop solutions to the most pressing development and peacebuilding challenges for youth in Timor-Leste. It will include youth from marginalized districts, empowering all participants through the creation of dialogue mechanisms with decision-makers. read more…
The audience lobbies to see that performers at the Intamenwa Festival (photos: Grégoire Baribeau)
By Elise Webb
The youth of Burundi are a force to be reckoned with and everyone in Bujumbura seems to know it.
Too many Westerners only know Africa through the negative lens the media tends to show. So the story of politicians manipulating the young minds of their largest pool of voters can seem tired. It’s the sort of thing that gets a sigh of “It’s Africa.” For years the politicians of this small nation have been doing much more reach the youth than the old Clinton-on-MTV gig. Youth here, young men in particular are inspired to violence by politicians, who dangle promises of employment before them. They convince the youth that certain areas should be political party strongholds and all other parties should be forced to leave, this often translates to violent turf skirmishes reminiscent of Tammany Hall strong-arming.
Yet everyone seems to forget that ‘the youth’ are made of up individuals. Young men and women with their own dreams and desires, with their own way of seeing things, and they choose to come together however they like. Last Friday nearly 5,000 youth and other residents of Bujumbura filled a once empty recreation field to see Search for Common Ground’s Peace Music Festival.
Thousands Rally in Papua to press for Independence
Demonstrators rallying for independence in Indonesia's Papua province (Reuters/ NYT)
Earlier this week, The New York Times featured an article about protests in the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua. Thousands of demonstrators, many in tribal dress, marched amid heavily armed police officers and soldiers. The demonstrators demanded a referendum on independence for the region and the repudiation of a 1969 vote that was backed by the United Nations and formalized Indonesian control.
“For 40 years the Indonesian government has never fairly applied the law or upheld human rights,” said Victor Kogoya, the chairman of the Jakarta consulate of the West Papua National Committee. “The Papuan people have never had justice.” read more…
Talking about religion after Norway
A young man praying at a tribute for the victims of the Norway attacks (AP Images)
By Julie Clawson
Austin, Texas – The recent tragedy in Norway, the worst attack the country has experienced since WWII, shocked and pained the world. It has also forced us as a global community to look more closely at religion, identity, and how we see the “other” – as well as ourselves.
In the West, religion is often an uncomfortable topic of discussion, and the recent terror attacks in Norway have forced many of us, especially in the United States and Europe, to re-examine issues of religion and identity. read more…
The Nexus Global Youth Summit, held last week in New York was a resounding success and may go some ways in changing the way youth people engage in philanthropy and social entrepreneurship. Convened by Search for Common Ground, the Nexus was conceived of by Search-USA Director, Jonah Whittkamper as a way of of bringing resources and innovation together to make real youth-led change.
As Forbes correspondent, Brian Solomon writes, “[the] process may take years, but the participants of the Nexus Summit hope they have kick started a real movement.”
An additional challenge the Nexus Summit tackled was connecting people from all backgrounds and parts of the world. Jessie Spector from Resource Generation, a non-profit that organizes young people of privilege for the public good, spoke about this problem during one panel. “We have common interests, but not the language to build movements,” she said. “It’s about finding a community to break down barriers to galvanize your resources and maximize your impact.”
Writing for Philanthropy 2173, Lucy Bernholz saw the event and the Young Donor Network as an example of institutions that are by the communities they’re trying to serve:
What strikes me about this is the ready and clear statements about who the programs are run by and who the programs are for – whether we are talking about the Nexus conference, the Search for Common Ground (SFCG) or the Young Donor Network. All three are actively shaped by the very people they also aim to serve.
There is so much more to say about this conference and its attendees, presenters and big ideas which were conceived over these four hot summer days at the end of July 2011. I can’t wait to watch the novel social ventures which this exciting army of young wealthy and powerful soldiers will create as they march into the world and change it for good!
Connections between social entrepreneurs and young wealth holders have formed during the Nexus Summit that will continue to strengthen and through the mash of ideas and resources, we can all make real change happen!
Follow #nexussummit and #nexusyouth on twitter to see what people are saying and keep the conversation going!
